The Panamanian Cuisine has strong influences from Africa, Spain and its indigenous Native American population. There is a lot of similarity and overlap with some of our favourite famous foods of Colombia as well as several unique dishes we had never heard of before.

These are our 5 favourite Panamanian dishes we tried and loved during our big Latin American trip.

Sancocho de gallina Panameño: the national dish

Sancocho is a delicious, light chicken soup with potatoes, corn on the cob, culantro herb, yuca and plantains. Other ingredients often used include corn on the cob (mazorca), ñampi (a tropical root vegetable), hot sauce, chopped onions, garlic and oregano.

The traditional recipe of sancocho is from the Azuero region, but other regions have their own variations. For example, in the town of La Chorrera, it is referred to as ancocho chorrerano and is only made with free range chicken, onions, garlic, chili peppers, oregano and ñame. Whereas in the Chiriquí Province, it is called sancocho chiricano and it is made with squash, giving it a yellowish colour.

Due to the varied ingredients used to make a sancocho, it is often used as a metaphor for Panama’s racial diversity, showing that each different ingredient has just an important and equal role to play in the preparation of this very yummy dish. As such it is considered the national dish of Panama.

I have a weakness for Southern food. Give me buttery grits or a biscuit drenched in gravy, and it’s instant #foodporn. Southern food and I go way back; we have history. I grew up outside Atlanta, Georgia, where the Waffle House was my stomping ground as a teen. Raised in a Korean household, I ate ban chan and bulgogi almost every day and have no regrets. My mom was an amazing cook, but when she brought home a bucket of fried chicken, it was a miracle if the chicken bones survived. There was always a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on the table at every meal, and it was mine.

It would go on everything, especially when my mom cooked meatloaf with green beans or chicken-fried steak with sweet potatoes. It’s not far off the mark to say I learned to love food through Southern dishes. There’s a level of comfort and nostalgia with every meal, no matter where I am in the country, and it truly resonates with iconic chef Anthony Bourdain’s famous quote: “Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.”

Every time I plan a trip to Nashville, I arrange my itinerary around the restaurants I’ll dine at. Nashville may have a reputation for its music history, but any foodie or gourmand knows the restaurant scene is what makes the city truly special. Notable chefs have elevated Southern classics, yet you can still nom on nostalgic comfort food at a simple café. When I’m in town, I’m hashtagging #foodporn to an obsessive level, but it’s all warranted. Nashville offers some of the best Southern food in the country. Restaurants here also have heaps of personality, and foodies are treated with trademark Southern hospitality, which historically has revolved around a great meal.

Nashville is also growing faster than any other city in the south, so visitors have more reason to eat their way through the city. Thompson, Westin, and 21c Museum Hotel have recently moved in, and Kimpton and Virgin are on their way. Complementing the expansion of the tourism landscape, the culinary scene (the real heart and soul of Nashville, in my opinion) gets better every year. It has the power to move you, inspire you and, like me, make you fall in love with food. From longstanding institutions to new, buzzing hot spots, the restaurants featured here are taking dining to the next level.

The camera eats first!” insisted the alpha-teen at the table next to me when a waitress arrived and lifted the lid from a bamboo basket of steaming shrimp dumplings, confettied with fragrant green snippets of chive.

Forty fiercely painted fingernails reluctantly reversed direction and withdrew as their queen bee moved her iPhone to catch just the right angle, sliding water glasses and cutlery out of view to frame the impend- ing tastiness just-so. “Come on,” com- plained one of her gaggle, “I’m hungry!”

Richmond, British Columbia, on Lulu Island, is the only place in the world where the visitors’ bureau has officially adapted “The camera eats first” as a tourism slogan, urging locals and out-of-towners alike to flood blogs and social media with mouthwatering imagery.

Success was pretty much guaranteed from the get-go. With the largest Asian population in North America and over 800 restaurants, Richmond provides easy access to a world of alluring, sometimes unfamiliar foods for American travelers without the time, budget, or adventurous- ness to manage trans-pacific travel.

Many gay travelers have been to Richmond without even knowing it. If you’ve ever flown into Vancouver, one of Canada’s most popular LGBT destinations, you actually landed in Richmond, where the “Vancouver” International Airport is located. Just a 30-minute car or public train ride from central Vancouver, its a must-do on any Vancity vacation. And if you’re a culinary adventurer, Richmond easily merits a dedicated long weekend trip of its own. Richmond is ready for its close-up, Mr. Delicious.

For such a tiny country, Ecuador really punches its weight on the culinary scene. You don’t associate Ecuador as a foodie destination. Instead images of Charles Darwin and giant Galapagos tortoises are more likely to spring to mind.

That’s what we thought when we first arrived, but very quickly discovered one of the most varied cuisines we’ve ever encountered in our travels with influences from the coast, Andes highlands and from its share of the Amazon basin. Remember: Ecuador is a tiny country, comparable in size to the UK or the state of Colorado in the US.

These are our 10 favourite famous foods of Ecuador not to miss.

#1 LLAPINGACHOS: FRIED STUFFED POTATO PATTIES

Llapingachos are one of Ecuador’s most famous dishes. They are fried potato omelettes stuffed with cheese, cooked on a hot griddle until crispy and commonly served with a fried egg, avocado, meat and peanut sauce. They originated from the highlands but their popularity spread throughout the country, making them the national dish. They are popular in the markets where they’re prepared in bulk and served to hungry folk for lunch or as a side to another dish like hornados and fritadas.

Since first learning about the Menil Collection 12 years ago, I’ve hungered for its “spiritual” showcase of art. No admission fee; no public tours; no descriptive plaques. Just the late Dominique and John de Menil’s gift to Houston, housed in a celebrated structure from preeminent museum architect Renzo Piano, of their supreme art collection. It was a feast beyond expectations.

Spanning time and genres, from Byzantine to Pop Art, these treasures are rotated in convention-defying juxtaposition–expressly to invite individual, personal contemplation and interpretation.

In the tranquility of Piano’s triumphant design, with tall trees and garden atriums integrated in wraparound porticos and the sun dancing through his ingenuous skylight system, I realized the intended effect that had originally inspired the young de Menils of the museum as a place to “lose your head.”

Every traveler should stop by at least at one of the Caribbean islands. Their raw beauty, warmth and rich culture make them ideal for a romantic getaway or adventure seekers. But we think the national cuisine is yummy enough to convince you to book a flight and head over to the Caribbean right now! Here’s 5 Caribbean foods which may just sway you to head on over.

#1 Jerk Chicken

This spicy, hot and delicious meal originates from Jamaica. It consists of 2 parts: the jerk marinade and of course, the chicken. The jerk is made from a mix of spices, including soy, brown sugar, cloves, peppers and jalapenos. The jerk is then placed on the chicken and grilled, producing a really tasty dish. The Jerk Chicken must be cooked over coal or fresh green wood (usually the bark of the pimento tree) in order to give it its unique flavour.

Dallas is proud of some of its stereotypes. The “Big D” is, after all, where you’d head to find big hats and big cowboys wearing them, most of them sporting big appetites to boot. Then there’s football, another Big D, the silver-starred Cowboys. Even the classic TV show Dallas is something locals are proud to call their own, and not just for the big hats and big hair that made it the ultimate, iconic melodrama of the 1980s.

On the other hand, there are quite a few Dallas clichés ready to get bucked. Top among them is that this city is too conservative to have much LGBT culture. On a recent visit to Oak Lawn, one of the state’s, and perhaps all of the South’s, busiest gay neighborhoods, it was plain to see that queer folks are also pretty big in Dallas. Of course, where there’s a vibrant gay community there tends to be a strong dining scene. In Dallas, that’s true both in the gayborhood and around town. From staples like Tex-Mex and barbecue, to spicy send-ups and restaurants with soul, it’s time to refresh our notions about what Dallas has cooking.

LOCKHART SMOKEHOUSE

Vegetarians beware: This may not be the restaurant for you. The first tipoff are staff T- shirts that read, simply, “Wood fire meat beer.” The second is a menu that lists chick- en and turkey under “TX Vegetarian.” But for those who appreciate barbecued brisket, ribs, and other carnivorous delights, Lockhart Smokehouse delivers. This family operation is a relative newcomer having opened in the cute, walkable Bishop Arts District in 2011. Today it upholds the standard for central-Texas-style smoked meats and is considered by many to be one of the best places for barbecue nationwide.

Japanese food is hands down one of the best in the world. Even Sebastien, a very proud Frenchman admitted it was his favourite.

But don’t just take our word for it: in December 2013, the Japanese cuisine (called washoko), was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible heritage list. Which other cuisines do you know are UNESCO listed?!! (Sebastien was quick to point out the French cuisine is also in the same UNESCO list).

Proud Frenchman aside, after finding a great deal on Skyscanner, we decided to go to Japan for 2 weeks and visited Tokyo, Takayama, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Okinawa. So, get ready for some serious foodporn in our run down of our 10 favourite traditional food of Japan.

One of the things I was most exciting about when I got on the train to Italy? The food, of course! I boarded the train in Germany in the morning knowing that I’d get off the train in Milan a few hours later, and all I could think about was what I’d be eating for my first meal in Italy. I love Italian food – the pastas, pizzas, breads and pastries, risotto and pretty much everything that I can eat as a vegetarian (I am always told I am missing out because the meat dishes and seafood are amazing, apparently).

So while I’m inviting you to join me on a culinary tour of Lombardy and Veneto, the regions I traveled to on my recent visit, be warned: this is only a small fraction of all the good food Northern Italy has to offer, and it is the meat free version.

When this decadent customs wasn’t feasible anymore because of rising gold prices, Lombardians still wanted their food to look as if gold was used, which is why the color yellow is omnipresent – in the most iconic dish of the region for example, Risotto Alla Milanese. The color comes from the saffron, which is the most expensive spice in the world – did you know that? In addition to saffron, lots of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and butter are used. As you can see in the picture below, ‘Alla Milanese’ can also be made with pasta, not just with risotto.milan spaghetti milanesaSpeaking of butter – Lombardians are not afraid to use butter and lard, especially in the polenta dishes. Polenta, a corn meal based dish is together with risotto the most common dish in the region, and is usually served with meat or vegetables.

Sydney may have the iconic Opera house, Mardi Gras glitz, and some celebrity chefs, yet Melbourne can lay claim to Australia’s only inclusion on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants In the World list–Chef Ben Shewry’s avant-garde, farm-to-table hotspot Attica. Melbourne also has the honor of being a repeat title holder of World’s Most Livable City.

The dining scene here is simply incredible, thanks in no small part to the bounty of produce and wines resulting from the Victoria region’s climate (“four seasons in a day,” locals like to say), a burgeoning crop of under-the-radar innovative chefs, a teeming craft coffee culture, and strong multi-cultural influences.

From Melbourne’s downtown (CBD) and its famed, labyrinthine laneways to hipster hoods Fitzroy and Collingwood, amazing new spots are cropping up everywhere. Openings and reboots are routinely chronicled on chic “what’s on” website, Broadsheet, while annual tome The Age Good Food Guide keeps tabs on the best and brightest. A tastings-filled food tour is always a good idea, and the excellent and sassy Monique Bayer’s Walk Melbourne offers superb 3-hour expeditions covering coffee, chocolate, dumplings, rooftop bars, and more from $53-up. You can even try some modern Aussie cuisine from New York or Los Angeles in Qantas’ business class where the menus are by Neil Perry, whose high-profile Rockpool can be found at Melbourne’s Crown casino complex.